Janet Yellen has signalled that the US Federal Reserve will hold off raising rates this month, as she described Friday’s jobs report as disappointing and highlighted uncertainties ahead, including Britain’s referendum on its EU membership.

In a speech in Philadelphia, Ms Yellen described the Federal Reserve’s current monetary policy setting as “generally appropriate”, indicating that the Fed wants to sit tight at its meeting next week but is holding open the possibility of rate rises later should May’s jobs setback prove to be an anomaly.

As recently as two weeks ago, Fed officials were publicly hinting that they were preparing to raise rates for just the second time since the 2008 financial crisis, marking one of the clearest signs of confidence in years in the sustainability of the economic recovery. But the unexpected shortfall in May’s non-farm payrolls threw uncertainty over whether the US was facing a new economic threat or simply a temporary blip.